Is the Condemner Boltgun worth it?

[Orphus]

So I was just looking at this weapon and it occurred to me that the Psi-shock rule is kinda crap if you look close enough at it. Never mind the S5 AP - single shot you get using it, the rule states that any unsaved wounds caused by the bolt on a Psyker forces a Perils test. Now unless the Lord of Change is a Psyker I really see no use to this as an unsaved wound will kill 99% of Psykers out there that aren't Space Marine HQs anyway before you get to factor in the perils test. Am I missing something here?

[RedemptionNL]

It's not only when the Psyker suffered an unsaved wound from the crossbow, but when he is hit. That still makes it somewhat akwards, as most Psykers are ICs that can't be singled out by shooting, so how do you determine if he is hit? If the wound is allocated to him, or does it already count if the unit you hit contains a Psyker?

 

The Stormraven's Mindstrike missile at least circumvents this, because its Psy-shock rule gives any Psyker under the blast marker a Perils of the Warp attack, regardless if the regular wounds from the Frag Missile equivalent are allocated to the Psyker or not.

[Gentlemanloser]

Generally not worth it.

[ValourousHeart]

Well they could be thinking of Eldar HQs... they tend to be psykers.

Or Hive Tyrants.... synapses counts a being a psyker.

IG have an HQ psyker that has more than 1 wound, too... ok so no one uses that guy, but he is out there.

 

Or you could use it on a psyker battalion squad... shot kills one guy, but the squad counts a 1 psyker... and so would test... if they fail the whole squad goes away.

Same goes for a Henchman squad from the GK codex with any psykers in the unit... except that only the psykers go away.

 

Vs Grey Knights, brother hood of psykers, means that if the squad takes a wound the justicar has to take the perils.... or another model if the justicar is already dead.

Heck almost everything in the GK codex is a psyker... take your pick of targets.

 

Vs Blood Angels, it could be interesting to use vs a librarian dread... just have to shoot it in the back.

 

But yes it is very limited to opponents with psykers in their list... which right now the only codices without a Psyker HQ are Tau, DE, deamons & Necrons.

So realistically it is a matter of how prevalent psykers are in your gaming area as to its usefulness.

[ValourousHeart]

It's not only when the Psyker suffered an unsaved wound from the crossbow, but when he is hit.

 

That is how it is worded in the codex... but the FAQ changed it to be unsaved wound.

 

So it is almost completely useless vs an IC in a squad... unless you have the Librarian and 1 marine... and sisters hit and wound with a melta gun and the cross bow.... instant death or risk perils on a fail armor save... instant death or risk perils on a failed armor save.... I think I'll take the risk of perils.

[RedemptionNL]

It's not only when the Psyker suffered an unsaved wound from the crossbow, but when he is hit.

That is how it is worded in the codex... but the FAQ changed it to be unsaved wound

Ah, I missed that one. Fixes the rules issue, but makes it virtualy useless. :) So if you want to force Perils of the Warp, you're much better off with a Stormraven, or even the Orbital Strike Array.

[Inquisitor Fox]

It'd be pretty brutal against something like the Swarmlord when paired with a psyocculum. Just sayin.. :D There are many big scary monster type things that count as psykers. Having a chance, however small, to instantly cause a perils test is pretty slick. If you feel it's worth the investment, go for it. I take it because I think it looks slick and that's the way my model is modeled, but I'm wierd like that.

[RedemptionNL]

The Tyranid player would just allocate the stake hit to a Tyrant guard, so he wouldn't have any risk of a Perils of the Warp.

[ValourousHeart]

You're assuming that you will still have the guard when he shoots his crossbows?

Let's assume that the sister's player is not mentally handicapped, and knows to deal with them first.

 

3 exorcist coming up and how many hive guard do we knock down?

 

We sisters players might all be old... but we are not all sen...

 

Oh, man where did I put my shoes?

Have you seen them?

[Freman Bloodglaive]

The question was asked, are they worth it?

 

The answer is, not at all.

[Chengar Qordath]

Have to agree on the condemner being bad value for points; it's a very situational weapon that's only moderately useful in the situation it's designed for, and it's a one-shot combi-weapon on top of that.

 

Personally, I'd rather have one of the other types of combi-weapon that have a lower points cost and are far more flexible in use. I can't see many situations where a combi-melta or plasma can't do just about as well, if not better, at killing/hurting Psykers than the Condemner.